Hi Everybody, I'm the owner of a 2007 F430 spider here in Hangzhou, China. Last week I just got my car back after 7 months in the shop fixing the soft top. 4 days after I get it back, I'm driving along at low speeds, when suddenly the dashboard goes crazy, and within 2 blocks, I have to shut down the car. I look in the back, it looks like there is hydraulic fluid leaking out everywhere on the rear passenger's side. Got it towed away, and the Ferrari service shop (whom I hold in utter contempt after a long string of fiascos) says the F1/E-diff hydraulic hose needs to be replaced, plus the actuator solenoid and a slew of other parts. Now comes the aggravating part: they want to charge $4000 to fix this. Parts will take 6 weeks to arrive. I said screw it, give me the part list, I'll order the parts myself via express shipment. "No, we can't tell you the part numbers and by the way you owe us $300 for diagnostics" they said. Question: is there anything overtly complicated about changing this hose, and does the actuator really need to be changed? These mechanics are complete idiots. I mean, after Ferrari Asia/Pacific (the corporate after sales director is a great guy, no complaints at all on him) very generously paid for the umpteenth repair to the soft top, and it still didn't function right, the local authorized shop (the current guys I'm speaking of) included the fuel tanks on a list of parts to change to fix the soft top. Shows what I'm dealing with. I'm not new to wrenching around cars, I've changed head gaskets, clutches, etc. but never on my 430. Is it realistic to DIY fix something like this? Or are there specialized tools etc. that would keep me from doing this? Thanks for any opinions
I can't see how it would need an actuator if all that's failed is a hose, but obviously this is the Internet not an actual examination of the car. If you can find someone who can make you up a hydraulic hose there is no reason why this could be fitted and the system bled. You will need an sd2/3 to properly bleed the system after installation as well as to carry out the self-learn procedure...